I'd Like to Believe It
by candysweet
Summary: Inuyasha was fine doing nothing. Since he couldn't read, he stumbled into a shogi ie, and a girl. After saving her from the flames, he agrees to help her find the shikon jewel, of which he's taken a sudden interest in.
1. Shogi Ie

I do not own Inu-yasha.

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Yello alls! It's candysweet again with another of her fanfics. Yes, there are numerous ones, aren't they::looks at all of her fanfics: God, and they're still coming... Anywoo! Welcome to I'd Like to Believe It! This is an AU like the summery said. The funny thing is, I really don't like AUs, but I write so many of them... Sigh. Oh well. And yeah... Well, the title of this story is just one I thought up on the dot, so it kinda sucks. Plus it's a title of this Inu-chan thing I made... Oh well. Just read the damn thing!

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Chapter One

Shogi Ie

He sighed. Another day of just walking around. Nothing to comfort him. Sometimes he just wished that he had _something_ to do. He smirked. Some_one_ to do would be better. Actually, he really didn't care. Relationships weren't something he was really used to. The last one had ended in screaming and pain.

He never wanted to go through that again. It was a hassle. Trying to keep everyone happy. He was much better on his own. No one to hold him down.

He punched the air almost enthusiastically. He sighed again and finally pulled himself off the ground from under the sakura tree. It would of been better to sleep in the tree. The ground wasn't all that comfortable. But a nice tree branch...that was much different.

"Whelp. Better start out," he said to no one in particular. That was the downside. Being alone. You were lonely...and sometimes...the nights were really long...and cold. He shook his head. It didn't matter. Look to the future, eh? Wasn't that what everyone was saying?

He started out on the trail, carrying nothing with him. All he owned was the clothing he wore. Oh yes, and a vocabulary made up of mainly "naughty" words. Words that would send a child to the corner if they said them. He mentally slapped himself for being weird. _Again_.

His clothing consisted of black jeans and a white tank top. Over that, he wore a black leather jacket. He had chucks as well. Black. He didn't like the bright colors like orange and pink and green and...red. What a strain to remember the colors he had seen.

He mentally slapped himself again. He was too weird.

He looked up and spotted the town coming into view. Good. He could go for some food. He spotted a large wooden sign. He shrugged and went inside. He stopped as soon as he saw what was inside. Women with kimono on. He growled to himself. There were only two kinds of people that wore kimonos in Japan anymore. Royalty and shogi. This was obviously a shogi house. He didn't like the idea of shogi. It was barbaric.

He went to the front desk.

"Oh, hello Mister, would you like to see the women now?"

He thought for a second. "Yes. I would." If he could find out how this building worked...he could burn it down.

"Down that hall. When you've found one you like, just report it to the front desk," she said with a brilliant smile. He really wanted to smack her.

He strolled down the aisle, seeing how all of the women flinched. He glared at nothing in particular. They were being held in _cages_. He knew humans were nothing but beasts. Driven by greed and lust. He despised them.

He stopped at one when he saw she didn't flinch. She didn't do anything except stare past him. Entirely numb. "Oi."

She looked up at him. "Oh." She stood up. "I'm sorry."

"Feh. I'm not here for that kind of thing. What do you think I am?"

She looked at him calmly. "Your ears say demon, your aura says half."

He raised an eyebrow. Obviously this one was a miko. "Hey. Do you know this place well?"

She nodded. "I've lived here for awhile."

"Good then. What's your name?"

She shrugged. "We aren't allowed to tell you. They can tell you though."

He growled. "That has to be the most idiotic thing I've ever seen." He went up to the front desk. "Yeah, that one." He pointed at the girl he had been talking to. "What's her name?"

"That would be Kagome Higurashi. You're not allowed to tell her though."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because if they run away... It's just disastrous." The woman shook her head. "Here's the key to her cage. It's also the cage to the room. It's the same number as her cage." She handed him a small key.

"Yeah, whatever." He went over to Kagome's cage and opened it. "Come on." He lead her to a room. 389. He opened the door and looked at her. "Come on." He went in.

She blinked, but followed him in, closing the door behind them gracefully. It was a paper door, but science had made it so that the paper was as strong as wood, therefore, it could have a lock on it. Kagome sat on her legs, bowing down low to him, her arms out in front of her, bent at the elbows ever so slightly that her forearms were in front of her.

"I told you I wasn't here for that," he said. "Sit up."

She did as he told and stared downcast.

"So then, if someone was to...start a fire or something, where would the best place to be to get everyone out first?"

Kagome looked up at him. "You're surely not going to- I'm sorry, sir, I shouldn't of spoken out of line." Her eyes went back down.

"Cut the manners crap. What would work on this building?"

Kagome sighed. "There is a back door. It's only glass. I'm sure you could get through that _quietly_? After that, you have to go to the front desk. They leave all the keys there. There's no way you're getting through the iron cages without a sound without those keys. Unlock all the girls and let them out through the back door. Then you should go to the front desk again and start the fire behind it. No one but a few guards and the shogi live here, so you shouldn't worry. And the guards are pretty pathetic. They fall asleep by twelve from drinking sake. They shouldn't make you worry. The shogi house closes down at nine, and all the patrons have to be out, to make sure that all the girls are here. The best time to start evacuating is around twelve ten. It'll take about twenty minutes, ten to get them all out, and ten to let them all run to safety. Then you can start the fire. And that's all it takes. Oh, yes. You would want to start a fire in the back too. That way, the house would be taken out by the time the fire department got around. Oh yes, wear gloves and put everything back to the way it was. If all goes right, they'll just think that a fire started and everyone inside died. That means you'll have to slide a credit card through the glass door, put all the keys back, and shut all the doors after you. Think you can do that?"

He blinked and then smirked. "I can do that."

"Oh, and sir?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"What's your name?"

He scoffed. "It doesn't matter."

"Well, you're doing this wonderful thing for me and my sisters, I would have just liked to know your name, so when I get back home...I can put in an offering to Buddha in your name."

"Feh. Stop being such a fool."

Kagome's eyes went down to the floor once again. "Yes sir."

He stood up and opened the door. "Think you can handle a couple of hours? Or would it go crazy in your mind and make you tell the others?"

"No sir. I can handle it."

"Good. 'Cause I don't want a stupid girl to ruin it."

"You never told me your reason."

"Do I need one?" He started walking away. Kagome stood up quickly and followed after. He made sure that she was back in her cage and then gave the front desk the key again.

Now he just had to wait.

He hated waiting.

---

Yes, very short, leave me alone!


	2. Kaji

I do not own Inu-yasha.

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Hello again! Last chapter was kinda short, but this chapter's kinda longer... Uh, whatever. So yeah. Shogi Ie means Whore/Prositiute House. If anyone didn't catch that last chapter. Isn't it funny that it was the prosititutes and royalty that wear kimono? I mean, what irony. Whatever. This chapter's called Kaji, which means fire. So yeah.

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Chapter Two

Kaji

The keys were right where Kagome had told him and he picked them up easily. He tapped on the wall and saw fifty different pairs of eyes look up at him. "Yo. I'm letting you all out." He found the key number matched the cage number. In ten minutes, all of the cages were empty.

"Go run away now," he said. In another ten minutes, he was by himself. He took out a flask of alcohol and poured some on the front desk, letting it pour on the ground as he walked to the back. "This better work. That was some good shit," he said to himself. He lit a match and dropped it on the front desk, walking himself out.

He bumped into something and fell over onto his front.

"Ow," the something said calmly. He looked back and saw Kagome on her knees, rubbing her back.

"What the hell are you doing?"

She looked over at him. "Coming with you of course."

"Hell no!" He stood up. "The stuff I do is way too dangerous for a girl."

She stood up as well, glaring at him. "Oh yeah! Setting a place on fire is really full of danger! I've done it so many times I could do it in my sleep!"

"Oh, then is that why you were sold to a prostitute house?"

"No!"

"Um...Kagome?"

Kagome looked back to see a girl in kimono, her hair pulled back with a headband. "Yes, Eri?"

"Shouldn't you get out of the burning building?" Eri shrugged and ran off.

"Burning building?" They looked up and indeed, much to their just-remembered amazement, the shogi ie was on fire.

"Oh shit!" the male said as a rafter fell. He picked up Kagome and got out of the way. "See?" he said, looking down at her. "Too dangerous!"

Kagome smiled at him. "Thank you."

He fehed at her. "Don't thank me! It's not like I'm some kind of beast that lets innocent people die, no matter how much I _hate _them." He put her down, crossing his arms.

"Oh, stop it with the childish antics. You're what, seventeen?"

"No."

Kagome sighed. "You are one really annoying person! Too bad I need you."

He looked at her. "What do ya mean?"

"I was suppose to get the shikon no tama, but I was caught and forced to work here."

"The what?" he said, not really caring.

"The shikon no tama!" Kagome said angrily. "It's a jewel that grants your wish!"

NOW he was interested. "Grants anything? Like...something to become a full demon?"

"Feh," Kagome said, imitating him. "But it's too dangerous for little half-demons. Only mikos can make the journey.

He looked at her. "Then why did you want me, eh?"

Kagome sighed. "Fine. I'll tell you. I need you to protect me. I'm pretty young and my miko powers aren't very developed yet."

He laughed. "That's hilarious!"

She glared at him. "I can still hurt you, just wait."

"Whatever. Fine, I'll go with you on the promise that I can use the jewel."

Kagome sighed. "Fine. But first, I have to get it back to its owner."

"And who the hell would that be?"

"A demon of the name Naraku. At least...he says it's his. I don't really believe it, but a job is a job is a job."

He shrugged. "What the hell. Get on." He turned around so she could get onto his back. He looped his arms underneath her legs and looked around. "Yeah...this is going to be tricky..." He made his way through the building, until the door was in front of them. Just as they were to reach it, what great luck would have them but the rafters fall down again, right in their path.

"Damn it!" he yelled.

Kagome sighed. "No problem! Look! There's a window!" She pointed at what was more like a hole, since the glass had been blown out by the fire.

He shrugged. "That's as good as any." He went over and took her off his back. "Out ya go," he said with a smirk and threw her out. His little payback.

She flew out it with an "KYA!" and hit the ground with an "ITE!"

He climbed out, safe and no harm to him. "How ya doing there girl?"

She glared at him. "Oh I'm doing just fine! Thank Buddha the ground broke my fall!"

He smirked. "Good then, get on."

Kagome glared at him, but climbed on anyways.

"So, where we heading?"

"The Forest of Inu-yasha of course."

He looked at the ground. "Oh..."

"And what's the problem now?" Kagome said.

"Did I mention my name was Inu-yasha?"

She sweatdropped. "YOU'RE KIDDING ME? YOU'RE THE HALF-DEMON WHO WRECKED THE VILLAGE BECAUSE YOU BETRAYED THE MIKO KIKYO!"

"Hey!" Inu-yasha said, "Your little fairy tale is wrong! I didn't betray her, she betrayed me!"

"How did you get out of the spell?" Kagome said.

"I don't know!" he said angrily. "I just woke up one day and there was this little light thing in front of me and it pulled out the damn arrow!"

Kagome sighed. "This will be Buddha's blessing to report to Lady Kaede. 'Oh yeah, my partner you asked me to get? Yeah, he killed your sister'."

"Kaede? That twerp is still around?"

Kagome glared at him and pulled on his ear. "Hey, that's LADY Kaede and she's not a twerp! She's the respected miko elder of the village!"

He glared at her. "STOP PULLING ON MY EAR!"

"THEN LEARN SOME MANNERS FOR YOUR ELDERS!" Kagome shouted, pulling on his ear with every word to emphasize her anger and her point.

"OW!" he shouted and let her fall on the ground. "Forget it! I am not working with a stupid little girl!"

"I'm not little!" Kagome said and picked herself up. "With the things I've seen...I'm not little." She started walking north. "Got to keep going in the direction of the tiger..."

"HEY!" Inu-yasha yelled.

"What?" Kagome said, turning her head.

"You can tell her I didn't kill Kikyo."

"Whatever half-boy." She started walking away again.

"Stupid mikos," Inu-yasha cursed. He really hated them. And yet he was so plagued by them. He didn't believe in gods, but he was sure that if there were some or one or whatever, then they definitely had it out for him.

---

Kagome sighed. She was lost, absolutely lost! If she had Inu-yasha, she could of used his nose. Why did she have to be born with a low sense of direction? She sighed again. Just her fault.

"Hey lady! What's wrong with you?"

She turned her head to see a little kitsune jumping around behind her, tugging on the bottom of her kimono. He was small with red hair held back in a blue bow. He had on blue jeans and a shirt with white shell decoration and a brownish fur vest. His tail was a light tan color and his feet were bare, to show that he had little fox feet.

"Oh, I'm lost," she said with a smile. He was actually quite cute. She didn't know they made jeans that small.

He smiled brightly at her and jumped onto the counter of the bar and restaurant they were at. "Hi! I'm Shippo! I can help you! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to the Forest of Inu-yasha. My name's Kagome. Can you take me there?"

"No can do!" Shippo said disappointedly. "They recently put a barrier around it to keep out demons like me, and especially half-demons! It's because they found out that Inu-yasha has escaped!"

Kagome frowned. "Well, that's okay. I'm a miko. They'll let me in. I know the elder there."

Shippo thought a second. "Well...okay... But I'm not very strong. You can protect yourself, right? Since you're a miko."

Kagome's face dropped. "Uh, Shippo...I'm pretty young and my powers are kind of...underdeveloped."

"Welly welly well then!" Shippo said. "We need to find you someone who would protect you!"

"The one I had ran out on me."

Speak of the devil, Inu-yasha came in, sniffing the ground. "There you are!" he said when he found Kagome. He stood up, not noticing all the stares, and if he did, they all stopped because he was glaring like he would kill something. He walked up to Kagome and grabbed her eri. "And why the hell did you run away?" he said, bringing her face close to his."

"What are you talking about? You're the one who decided you couldn't work with a stupid girl remember?"

Shippo watched on, confused. "Kagome, who is this?" he asked, clinging onto her arm.

"This Shippo, is the most idiotic half-demon you'll ever find!"

"Oh. He was the guy who was going to protect you."

Inu-yasha glared at Shippo. "Who the hell is this twerp?"

Kagome took a quivering Shippo into her arms. "This is the bravest little kitsune I've met. He agreed to take me to the Forest of Inu-yasha without a second's hesitation!"

"Feh! He couldn't protect an ant."

"Yes, and he said so himself he couldn't protect me. We were just in the process of finding someone who could." She pulled her eri out of his grasp. "Come on Shippo. Let's get away from the scary mean half-boy." She walked out of the restaurant, a glaring Inu-yasha behind them.

"Wait one second!" he shouted, running after them. "We promised. You get protected by me and I get the jewel."

Kagome glared at him. "Yeah? Well you haven't exactly been showing loyalty!"

"We never said I had to like you," Inu-yasha said with a huff.

"And we never said I couldn't dispose of you!"

"Well you aren't filling out your side of the promise!"

"AND NEITHER ARE YOU!" Kagome shouted.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK I'M HERE FOR THEN?"

Shippo sighed in Kagome's arms. Something told him they were going to be like this the _whole_ way.

---

'Till next time!


	3. Ramen

I do not own Inu-yasha.

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The third chapter already! Yeah, I know I should work on ISOM more, but I'm in a story arc rut... I can already imagine the fanpeople yelling at me... T.T That's a scary thought. Anywoo, here's the third part to I'd Like to Believe It.

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Chapter Three

Ramen

Kagome held Shippo in her arms as they walked along the path. "This way, right?" she said with a smile.

"Yup!" Shippo said happily. He liked Kagome a lot. She was really nice and really pretty! He liked hugging her. Inu-yasha didn't seem to like her at all. In fact, when Shippo had told Kagome she was really pretty, he had just scoffed. Shippo had been kind of scared when he found out who Inu-yasha was, but now he didn't mind as much.

"I don't know why you're carrying around that damn twerp," Inu-yasha said.

"Because he's doing a better job than you are." Kagome patted Shippo on the head. "He's actually useful."

Shippo smiled at her and hugged her arm.

"Well, you could at least change out of that damn kimono! Haven't you noticed all the people staring? You could get attacked by men!"

"Well then, you should be there to protect me."

"I'm not going to protect you if you make yourself in a position that will get you attacked! That would make it your own damn fault!"

Kagome looked back at him. "Fine. In the next village, I'll buy something else. Alright with you? Master?"

Inu-yasha scoffed. "Stupid girl."

"My name is KAGOME!"

"Whatever. Stupid girl fits you better."

Kagome glared at him and then turned her attention to Shippo. "So then, how much farther should it be Shippo-chan?"

"Welly well... Maybe a day's journey still!" Shippo thought for a second. "We should be there in...yes, a day's journey. But it'd be nighttime. We should camp outside of it until morning, so Lady Keade can recognize you!"

"Now that, Shippo, is a good plan." Kagome smiled at him and gave him a hug.

---

Kagome looked at what the small clothing store had. She picked up an outfit. "I like this one."

Inu-yasha and Shippo were waiting outside when Kagome came out in her new outfit.

"Kagome-chan! You look pretty!" Shippo said, catching sight of her.

Inu-yasha looked over and fell off the chair. "What the hell? Now you look more like a slut than a prostitute!"

Kagome glared at him. "It's efficient. It lets me move around and it's not baggy, so it won't get in my way." She had picked a dress that consisted of a black corset with spaghetti straps and a black skirt that reached to her mid-thigh. Her shoes were black boots that went to the middle of her calves. Kagome tied her hair up into a bun. "Now then, since men won't attack me because of their _unbearable_ lust, can we go?"

Inu-yasha fehed and started walking again.

"I'm guessing that's a yes from the impatience master, Shippo," Kagome said and picked him up. Shippo laughed and held onto her arm.

"So then Shippo, what would you like for dinner tonight?" Kagome asked.

"Ramen!" he said happily.

Inu-yasha's ears perked up. Had he really heard the wondrous word of ramen? His eyesight dazed as he thought about the heavenly taste of the noodles...

"Okay then," Kagome said. "We'll get some instant ramen."

Inu-yasha made a motion with his lips that could almost pass as a smile. Even better. Ramen that would only take three minutes. He wasn't a very patience person and he wasn't going to start with the glorious ramen. Three minutes was almost too much to bear.

"Hey, Inu-yasha, is that okay with you?" Kagome said.

"Sure," he said, trying to not give away the absolute joy that would give him.

---

Shippo happily ate ramen while Inu-yasha practically scarfed it down.

"If you had told me you liked ramen so much, I would of made it more," Kagome said with a sigh.

Inu-yasha stopped his massacre of ramen noodles a second to look at her. "Why would ya do that?"

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Because you like it. It's not like I _hate_ you or anything. Friends help out friends, ya know?" She smiled at him

Inu-yasha blinked. Friends? They were...friends? He didn't remember ever saying this to her, but somehow...he really didn't mind. And so the noodle holocaust began again.

Shippo smiled to himself.

---

Inu-yasha watched from a tree while the two people below him slept. The girl was in her sleeping bag, still and quiet. He could still hear her breathe though, so he knew she was alive still. The little kitsune was curled up in her arms, his foot or hand moving quickly sometimes, as though he was swatting at something. Inu-yasha really didn't care.

Only a few days he had spent with these people. The girl wasn't on his nerves as much, but he still didn't want to know anything about her and the little kitsune...well...sometimes he'd like to beat him into a bloody pulp with a rusty stick. Now, he might be stupid, but he knew sticks couldn't be rusty, but then again, he really didn't give a damn. He'd still like to beat him to a bloody pulp with a rusty stick. Why rusty? So that it'd get infected. Then the damn brat would be in more pain.

Suddenly, it dawned on him:

He was hungry.

So, being one to listen to his stomach, he jumped down slowly and picked up the girl's bag. He still refused to call her by her name, although she acted like she would beat it into him if she could. He smirked to himself. Like she could. '_Anyways_,' he thought and went back to looking in the bag. He wondered if the girl had anything good in it. He picked up a bag of chips. Eh, not really good, but it'd work.

Into the tree he went and happily munched on the chips. He really didn't pay much to the taste. He didn't care, food was food.

Suddenly, it dawned on him again:

He had had to pay to talk to the girl in the shogi ie. She owed him big time.

He pushed that to the back of his mind and continued eating his chips, occasionally glancing down at the slumbering idiots. He'd deal with it all in the morning.

---

"AHH!" Kagome screamed. "Someone ate my chips!"

Inu-yasha rolled his eyes. "You owe me girl," he said from the tree branch, cutting right to the point.

"What do you mean?" She looked at him.

"At the shogi house, I had to pay to talk to you. And I didn't get my money's worth! You owe me!"

Kagome's face turned red. She threw her backpack at him, contacting with his face. "PERVERT!"

He glared at her with a slightly red face from the impact of the backpack. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!"

"I am not doing anything with you." She crossed her arms and turned her back on him.

He glared at the back. "You idiot girl! Like I'd do that with an underdeveloped brat like you!" He threw the backpack at her, which connected with the back of her head.

She irked and fell onto her knees, rubbing her head. "Ite! That hurt!" She glared at the hanyou who smirked at her from the shadows of the tree. He would so pay. Lady Kaede had the perfect thing to fix that damn smirk... At least...Kagome hoped she did.

---

Until next time!


End file.
